Itchy-O straddles the line between band and performance art, and in this case, the two aren’t mutually exclusive. While you can definitely find the group performing in venues across the world, you might also have front row seats to a show and not even know it. itchy-O has become somewhat infamous for their pop-up guerrilla performances where they “crash” unsuspecting audiences. When asked about these types of events, one member said:

itchy-o 2 “The adrenaline that comes from playing virgin crowds and blowing fresh minds is absolutely addictive. Seeing the “why is this happening?” expression on people’s faces as they surrender themselves to dancing is absolutely electrifying. But now that we are a little more well known,we have to find ways to augment these scheduled shows by crashing things here and there. But we also often hear from fans saying stuff like “I can’t wait to turn my friends on to Itchy-O,” or“my grandma is going to crap her pants!” This makes us so happy that fans are able to tap into this “exposure-energy-by-proxy.” And touring, of course, has become another way for us t oreach more and more virgins. Not to mention our production has come a long way since we went mobile. We’ve added a number of elements like taiko drummers, Chinese lion dancers, and a ton of new sophisticated gizmos like our 16-unit wireless system and digital sound board that make playing large venues as engulfing as any small intimate room.“.

I know what you’re thinking, that sounds like it could go real bad… real quick–and it has. After all, this is a group that contains an absurd amount of members. Things can get pretty ugly at the drop of a hat sombrero, but have there been any moments that stand out in hindsight?itchyosized-25-L
“Probably the most memorable event that we’ve crashed so far had to be at an Anarchist Champion Wrestling match in Austin Texas in 2013. We had a night that was not booked and the troupes were hot to play. We combed the papers and zero’d in on this wrestling event. What could go wrong, right? We actually had the approval of the main organizer. However, he had no idea what was actually coming and was nowhere to be found when we made our entrance with all 32 of us.

The whole venue went sideways and the next thing we knew we were surrounded by angry, pissed off, greased up, speed-O wearing, wrestlers SCREAMING! We all thought, at first, that it was just wrestling antics and so we “played along” until it became very apparent that they really did want to kill us. When the audience began to rise up against us that’s when we knew we had to get the hell out. That was fun but, then there was also the time we played in a house that was in the process of being torn down while we processioned through it.”.

Don’t stop now! There’s more to our conversation with itchy-O on the next page!